Inside Impel Down.
The jailers here had already received word in advance, but when they saw Cyrus appear, every one of them held their breath and obediently stood off to the side.
They looked nothing like their usual violent selves when dealing with prisoners.
After entering, Cyrus glanced around and actually saw a few familiar faces.
For example, Hannyabal, the fool who had always wanted to seize the warden's position and eventually did become warden, and Domino, the blonde chief guard of Impel Down.
Of course, there was also Sadi-chan in her little S&M leather outfit.
However, when the three of them saw Cyrus looking in their direction, their bodies all stiffened, and they forced out ugly smiles at the same time.
A person's name carried weight, just as a tree's shadow did.
Behind Cyrus's enormous reputation stood terrifying strength.
He carried the highest bounty in history, yet could still openly come to Impel Down. That alone already explained everything.
"So? What do you think?"
Garp's voice suddenly rang out.
Cyrus turned his head and saw Garp moving like the wind.
In the blink of an eye, he had passed everyone and caught up to Cyrus.
He raised one hand to pick his nose while pointing at Impel Down with the other.
"If Impel Down weren't locking up the pirates inside this place, and they were allowed to run loose, the sea would become very lively."
Cyrus froze when he heard that, then smiled.
"So that's why you released those dangerous pirates not long ago?"
The moment Cyrus said this, Garp froze, while Sengoku, who had been quickly catching up from behind, had his expression shift.
"It was Impel Down's mistake!"
Before Garp could speak, Sengoku directly defined the matter.
But once he said that, Magellan, the towering warden beside him with a demon-like face, looked utterly speechless.
Wasn't it an order to release them?
Now it had become Impel Down's failure to guard them properly?
"That's different. They're just a few old fellows. Even if their strength is decent, they won't be active for much longer."
Garp scratched his head.
"It doesn't matter. I've already contacted Redfield, he'll be going to Candy Island later."
Cyrus smiled.
Redfield!
The Red Count?
Sengoku and Garp's hearts shook.
As one of the great pirates Sengoku had personally ordered released, he naturally understood Redfield very well.
That man's strength was extremely powerful.
If speaking purely in terms of individual combat ability, he was not weaker than Whitebeard or Roger in his prime.
A man like that had made contact with Cyrus?
Did that mean he was going to join the Hunter Guild?
Then what about the others?
After being released, they had made no movement at all.
"That guy is very strong. But it seems he fought that lightning brat in Dressrosa before."
Garp suddenly stroked his beard and spoke.
"That's how contact was made. After all, that guy travels alone, so he's rather hard to find."
Cyrus nodded lightly and walked forward through Impel Down's huge passageway, his familiar ease making it seem as though this was not his first time here.
However, Sengoku and Garp did not find it strange.
After all, according to their analysis of Cyrus's strength, he possibly possessed Observation Haki with an enormous range.
Perhaps at this very moment, Cyrus had already covered the entirety of Impel Down, from top to bottom, within the perception of his Observation Haki.
"But aren't you going to release a few more? The ones you released now can't cause me much trouble. It would be best if they were the truly powerful ones." Cyrus spoke as he walked.
Sengoku's expression became somewhat awkward.
He could tell that Cyrus did indeed know those pirates had been released to cause trouble for him.
Having that kind of thing pointed out to his face was an experience even Sengoku had rarely encountered.
"But I don't mind. It's good if they can provide me with some entertainment."
Cyrus rested his hand on the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist, his tone casual.
"If you're hoping to find opponents in Impel Down who are strong enough for that, then you won't be able to. Those few fairly capable fellows really have all gone out."
Garp picked his nose and glanced at Sengoku as he spoke.
"Redfield?"
Whitebeard's voice suddenly rang out.
"That guy really isn't weak. He's still alive?"
Whitebeard's tone carried some emotion.
Clearly, he cared somewhat about the reappearance of this strong man who had suddenly vanished more than a decade ago.
"If you live long enough, you'll always run into a few fellows who have been hiding. Golden Lion here is the same."
Cyrus said this without even turning his head.
Golden Lion's eyes widened, and he was about to fly up and argue with Cyrus.
Only then did he remember that Seastone had already been locked around his wrists.
Right now, he was the only one among them being carried forward by Impel Down's jailers.
"Mamamama! Looks like the days ahead won't be boring."
Big Mom looked at Cyrus, then at Sengoku and the others, then at Whitebeard and the people beside her, and suddenly burst into loud laughter.
"What are you laughing at?"
Golden Lion turned his face upward and glared at Big Mom angrily.
"Don't you think the sea feels a little too one-note right now?"
Hearing Golden Lion's words, Big Mom did not get angry. Instead, she asked a question in return.
The moment she said that, Cyrus, who was walking at the front, suddenly paused.
As soon as he stopped, the people behind him also had no choice but to halt.
Everyone could tell that Cyrus had probably stopped because of Big Mom's words.
The sea felt a little too one-note?
Sengoku and Garp exchanged a glance.
The sea right now was clearly extremely lively.
If Big Mom had not said it aloud, even Sengoku might not have noticed.
Indeed, the current sea had become a little too monotonous.
Monotonous in the sense that only the Marines and the Hunter Guild remained active across the sea.
As for pirates, there were still more pirates than anything else.
However, more than half of the strongest and most famous pirates had run into trouble in a very short time.
Part of that was because of Cyrus and the Hunter Guild, and the other part was because of the Marines.
Sengoku took a deep breath and acted as though he had not heard Big Mom's words, nor noticed anything else.
Cyrus did not turn around and continued forward, arriving at the large elevator inside Impel Down.
The others all wore different expressions.
The three Admirals walking behind Sengoku looked grave.
Now, the strongest pirates had already left the stage.
What remained was the struggle between the Marines and the Hunter Guild.
Akainu stared at Cyrus's back.
If they could keep him here, every problem would be solved.
The elevator descended, while some of the people remained above to wait for the next trip.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay here for a while?"
Garp raised his hand and clenched his fist, suddenly speaking.
"You want to fight here? If anything gets broken, you can't deduct it from the bounty. Otherwise, I'll have to go to Headquarters myself to collect it."
Hearing that, Cyrus turned his head with a smile.
For the current Cyrus, fighting or not fighting was fine either way.
The main point was that Garp's earlier words had reminded him.
Fighting was fine, but he needed to receive that huge sum of money first.
Unfortunately, the Tesoro had suddenly disappeared.
He had clearly contacted the Hunter Guild before, then abruptly vanished.
Cyrus suspected that the World Government might have made a move and detained him directly, which was quite a pity.
If the Golden Emperor were in his hands, he would not need to worry about expenses.
Even if the money currently in the Golden Emperor's possession was not enough, his ability to gather wealth alone would be more than sufficient.
"If something unexpected happens later, I hope you won't interfere. This old man will handle it."
Sengoku looked around at the people in the elevator and spoke in a serious tone.
"Something unexpected? What kind of unexpected situation? Is someone planning to kill me here?"
Cyrus smiled and asked.
"When you decided to come here, you should have considered that possibility. However, this is Impel Down, and this old man does not want anything to happen to it."
Sengoku suddenly raised his hand, and golden light began spreading along his arm.
Seeing this, Cyrus glanced sideways at the huge elevator doors, then stepped aside.
Since Sengoku wanted to deal with an internal matter himself, Cyrus would not interfere.
And when the others inside the elevator heard the exchange between the two of them, they also realized something.
Whitebeard and the other three remained quiet.
No matter what happened, they would have a good show to watch.
As the elevator came to a sudden stop, the doors abruptly opened.
Then everyone in the elevator sensed a deadly crisis.
Every face turned serious.
There really was an accident?
"Buddha Shockwave!"
Sengoku's raised palm completely turned golden. A golden shockwave then flew from his hand.
Bang, bang!
A continuous series of muffled sounds rang out.
Snipers.
A large number of snipers.
And they were using Seastone bullets wrapped in Armament Haki.
Even Sengoku's Buddha Shockwave failed to block all of them. Quite a few bullets pierced through the shockwave and flew toward the elevator.
Clang, clang, clang!
A figure rushed out, raising fists wrapped in Armament Haki and swinging them repeatedly.
Every incoming bullet was knocked away by those pitch-black fists.